I edited my registry with negative results. I backed it up beforehand, and when I later tried to import the backup, I received a message that the backup failed due to some programs being in use. (I don't remember the exact message) I tried importing the backup in safe mode but got the same error message. It was easy enough to use system restore to fix the problem, but I'm left with an unsettling feeling. Anyone know why this happened (for future reference) Let me know if you need the specific key I edited. SullyD

SullyD: Not sure why you couldn't re-import to the registry what you saved for back-up. When I back-up, I normally do it three ways. System Restore, a back-up using XP's registry editoy itself, and a back-up using a third-party registry editor, like RegSeeker or JV16 Power Tools. I've found out the hard way that, when you're making registry changes, you can't have too many back-ups. Solarian

Solarian, Was that a freudian slip you wrote.. "XP's registry edit"toy" ? LOL I've never looked into a third part reg editor. Any suggestions on a good one (or a bad one to avoid)? SullyD

SullyD: Editoy was a typo, but now that you bring it up. . . 8-) RegSeeker is a great all-around registry utility, especially for a general registry cleanup. JV16 Power Tools is also good, but I don't have the URL handy (I'll post back with it). Here's a link for one-stop shopping for registry freeware: LINK The only two I'd stay away from are ERUNT and NTRegOpt. I'll explain in the next post. Solarian

SullyD: Here's the link for JV16 Power Tools: LINK About Erunt and NTRegOpt. . . Erunt itself is a good utility; NTRegOpt is included with it (or you can just get NTRegOpt by itself. NTRegOpt is a registry tool designed to compact the registry. That's fine, unless you need to import a backup that was made before you compacted the registry. Forget about it. 8-) Changing and backing up the registry has enough variables already. After getting burned (once burned, twice shy), I decided to forget about compacting the registry. I didn't notice any substantial improvement in performance anyway, even after compacting it by 5%. Best of luck, Solarian PS--JV16 Power Tools has a later version than the one I linked above, but it's not free.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it! I already downloaded reg seeker. Good site! SullyD